Hyderabad, May 8 -- Sam Pitroda, the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, has decided to step down from his position amid the ongoing controversy over his recent remarks on the diversity of India's population.

Pitroda's comments, in which he stated that people in the East of India look like Chinese, those in the South look like Africans and those in the North look like Arabs, were criticized by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as being racist and insensitive.

In response to the backlash, Pitroda has decided to step down from his role as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, and his decision has been accepted by the party's national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh ...